A Valkyrie Rises!
by Navek
Summary: A new player has entered the Beat Riders Game! One that is armed with a TABOO Lockseed! Will this swordswoman protect the world as it is, or dye it in her own image? Bare witness to the rise of...Armored Rider Valkyrie! Now accepting Original Riders & Lockseeds! See inside for submission details.
1. Henshin!

**Author's Note 1: I freaking love Kamen Rider Gaim! I personally think its a great example of how great writing and characters can more than make up for the ridiculous premise of having fruit-themed armored warriors that somehow involves dancing and time travel. I've wanted to take a crack at a Tokusatsu fanfic for a while and Gaim seems to be one of the best series to do this with.**

 **So without further or do, let's enter into a new stage!**

 _It was happening again, as it had happened a hundred times before. The blonde woman looked on in sadness as the wind blew her white clothing. She stood on a grassy hill as three armies faced other in the clearing, their armored generals leading the charge._

 _The kind-hearted orange samurai who led by horseback._

 _The arrogant yellow knight that charged in on his motorized steed._

 _And the two brothers that sought to destroy them both._

 _As they had done in every cycle, the armies clashed again, intent on fighting until the last man standing. But this time, something extraordinary happened. From above came a golden ball of energy that impacted in the middle of the clashing armies, knocking them back. When the light faded, the four generals saw an armored woman in red & silver who stood in the middle._

 _The knight drew her weapon and stabbed one of the brothers through the torso. The older brother attacked in retaliation but the knight blocked his sword and the orange samurai used the chance to continue his battle with the yellow knight, ending in him piercing the knight's stomach, the red & silver knight disarming the older brother and knocking him out. As the last two armored warriors stood amongst the carnage of the battlefield, the blonde woman looked with interest as they didn't engage in battle, but laid down their weapons as the two remaining warriors embraced._

 _Finally, after so many cycles, a change has occurred._

 _ **Navek Presents**_

 _ **A Kamen Rider Gaim Fanfiction**_

 _ **A Valkyrie Rises!**_

 _Chapter 1: Henshin!_

The day went as it usually went in the planned city of Zawame as the people were going about their day. However, one high school boy was pushed against an alley wall by some larger bullies.

"Come on, hand the money over!" One of the bullies said as he cracked his knuckles. However...

"Hey, jackass!" The four turned their attention and saw a woman in her early twenties with short brown hair, blue eyes, and an athletic figure. She outfit consisted of a red t-shirt with the Sengoku Basara version of Sanada Yukimura on it, long back jeans and sneakers while she carried a long blue sports bag draped over her shoulder. "You too scarred to fight someone your own size?"

One of the bullies smirked as he started walking towards the woman. "Why don't you just get on out of here chicky?"

Hearing this made the woman smirk as she cracked her neck. "Make me."

The bully swung his fist but the brunette evaded and socked him in the gut before delivering a kick to the face. The second bully looked on in confusion and grabbed a nearby pipe. The woman saw this and placed her bag on the floor.

"You want to use weapons?" She said as she unzipped the bag and pulled out a wooden kendo sword. "I'm game."

"Don't fuck with me!" The bully said as he swung his pipe but the woman parried over and over before knocking the pipe back and elbowing the bully in the chest. Walking past the downed men, she saw the last bully was looking in fear as she held out her bokken.

"So, what's your next move?" She asked. The bully dropped the smaller boy and ran away screaming. "Good choice." She said as she walked back to her bag and re-zipped her bokken in it. The teenage boy looked in amazement and bowed his head in gratitude.

"Thank you, Nee-San!" The woman smirked and messed up his hair a bit.

"No problem. Now you should probably head home." She said, the teen nodding and running back home.

"Aw, I missed it." The woman turned and saw another woman her age with black hair in a ponytail, purple-framed glasses, and black eyes. Her outfit consisted of a red dance jacket with a purple blouse under it, black spats, purple sneakers and red wristbands on her wrists. She looked over the knocked out bullies and whistled. "How long did they last?"

"Combined, I think about...twenty seconds." The brunette said nonchalantly.

"Going overboard again, eh Tatsuki?"

"Shut up, Sora." The kendoist said as she draped her sports bag over he shoulder again as the two women started walking away. As they walked, Sora pulled out her phone and showed her friend the latest video of Zawame city's most recent phenomenon; Armored Rider Gaim.

"You know, I might just get into the Inves game if that's the new feature." Tatsuki stated as the two watched a video of Gaim using his Pine Arms to destroy two low-grade Inves.

"I know Haru thinks so." Sora said, referring to her big brother who was big fan of the technicals of the game. "Team Gaim must've bribed a lock dealer to get this."

"You're just mad they beat you in the ratings." The brunette said, making her friend pout. The two decided to take a shortcut through the industrial district. But as they walked through the empty district, their attention was caught by an odd sight. A portal leading to a strange looking forest was open.

"What the hell?" Tatsuki asked as the two took a close look at the weird plant life growing just outside the portal. Sora took out her phone and snapped a picture of the plants and the crack. However, the women saw something heading towards the portal and backed up. Out of the portal was a man in early forties in a brown shirt and pants with a lab coat over them. In his left hand was a black rectangular case. The man started panting before he looked up and saw the two women looking at him and he only said one thing.

"RUN!" He yelled as he started run past them.

"Run from what?" Sora asked. As if an answer to that, another being came out of the portal. This one being an inhuman monster with blue lines over it and orange antlers. "A Shika Inves?!"

"Okay, I think that's what he was running from." Tatsuki said as she and Sora ran after the older man as the horned creature roared and chased after them. However, the creature unleashed energy from his mouth and fired it. While the blast didn't hit them, the force of the blast managed to knock the three humans into air and they landed with a thud.

"Shit." Tatsuki said as the Shika Inves prowled towards them. Scowling, the brunette unzipped her bag and pulled out her bokken. She got into a kendo pose, staring down the horned creature before charging with a yell.

"Tatsuki!" Sora yelled as her best friend swung at the creature. She keep swinging at it, but the Inves almost looked like it was confused. It swung but the brunette evaded and swung back. She jumped back to evade another swing. As this exchange continued, the older man looked up and saw Tatsuki evading and striking at the Inves.

"Sora! Take the old man and get out of here!" Tatsuki yelled as she evaded another attack.

"What about you?" The bespectacled woman asked.

"Never mind me! Just get out of here!" The kendoist yelled. The Shika Inves seemed to have had enough and fired another blast that knocked Tatsuki into some nearby garbage cans. Groaning and working through the pain, the brunette used her bokken as she started to get back up. However, the man saw that the creature was closing in on her and decided to intervene. With a yell, the older man ran and stepped in between the two combatants as the Shika Inves brought its claw down, slashing his torso. Seeing this shocked the two women as Sora saw and nearby brick and tossed it, the concrete object hitting the creature in the head and angering it.

"Come on you ugly freak!" Sora yelled as she started running and the Inves decided to run after it. Tatsuki looked worryingly as her friend lead the Inves away and looked down, seeing the bleeding man breathing heavily as the red liquid leaked out of his chest.

"You...you jumped in...and fought the Inves without a second thought." He groaned as he continued to bleed out. With his last bit of strength, he opened his suitcase, revealing a Sengoku Driver and an apple lockseed with the word 'TABOO' on it instead of a number. He grabbed the two objects and handed them to the shocked kendoist.

"Please...use this power...to save..." The injured man whispered before he passed away. After being shocked by the the man's passing, Tatsuki looked at the belt and Lockseed in her hand. With righteous anger coursing through her veins, she got up and glared at the horned Inves. She charged and yelled as she kicked it, getting its attention.

"I'm your opponent, remember?" Remembering the videos she had seen of Gaim, the kendo enthusiast placed the belt on her waistline, a yellow belt manifesting.

"Tatsuki, what are you doing?!" Sora asked as she looked at her friend.

"I don't know what this is about, but I can't let this monster keep hurting people." The brunette woman held up the Taboo Lockseed and unlocked it. "Henshin!"

 **Ringo!**

Triumphant horn music started to blare as as crack unzipped above her, letting a big mechanical apple into this dimension, making the Shika Inves and Sora look up in shock. Tatsuki placed the Lockseed in the drive...

 **Lock On!**

...and used the tiny sword to open it.

 **Come on! Ringo Arms! Desire Forbidden Fruits!**

The apple came down and unfolded. When the light faded, Tatsuki was covered in an Armored Rider form that consisted of red, black and silver with an apple motive. In her left hand was a red shield with a sword held in a holster. The kendo ace looked at herself in astonishment as her best friend looked in surprise.

"Woah! You transformed! Just like Gaim!"

"I know! It's awesome!" However, her celebration was interrupted as the Shika Inves charged and swung its claw. With heightened speed, Tatsuki blocked the attack with her shield before drawing the sword, slashing the creature as she drew her blade. She swung at the dragon again and again, creating sparks every time she hit the beast. After getting up, the dragon fired an energy blast from its mouth. Tatsuki blocked the attack with her shield before turning to her friend.

"What now?"

"Well, Gaim usually does a finisher by slashing the tiny sword."

"Okay." The armored woman did just that.

 **Come on! Ringo Squash!**

Energy started to gather around her sword. With a furious battle cry, the armored woman charged in and sliced at the beast's abdomen, creating an apple construct. Standing back up, Tatsuki started sliding her sword back into its holster.

"Fall." And with that, she sheathed her blade as the construct exploded, taking the Inves with it.

"That was so cool Tatsu-chan!" Sora exclaimed as she hugged her armored friend. "That was like something out of an anime!"

"Yup. Took me three months to get that move down." Tatsuki stated confidently, before remembering the old man and closed the lockseed, making her armor disappear. The two women ran towards the man and Sora quickly searched for a pulse, only to be horrified as she found none.

"He's...he's dead." Sora cried. Tatsuki scowled and clenched her fists. The two looked at the suitcase and the kendoist saw a green lockseed. Sora then saw an ID on around the man's neck. She looked at it and saw that his name was 'Burai Katsuragi' and that he was an employee of Yggdrasil.

'What the hell is going on?' Tatsuki thought to herself as the events of the day started to truly dawn on her. 'What was the portal? Why did a real Inves come out of it? Who is Burai Katsuragi and why did he have the same tech that Gaim guy has?'

Unknown to the two women, a young man with scruffy black hair, a green plad jacket, long jeans, sneakers and a black fedora looked on with a bemused smile. He held up an intrigant silver lockseed with folded wings as he started thinking to himself.

'Looks like things are about to get wild.' He thought to himself before walking through a crack that zipped up behind him.

 _To Be Continued..._

 **Author's Note 1: In case anyone was wondering, Tatsuki's rider form is the Armored Rider Idunn armor and the second lockseed in the case was the Watermelon Lockseed and not the Suika Lockseed.**

 ** _Next Time: As the Tatsuki and Sora reel from yesterday's events, the two try to find out the mystery behind the belt and the real Inves. And the only one who seems to know anything is the latest sensation to hit Zawame City: Armored Rider Gaim! Come back next time as Team Gaim and Team Valkyrie come head-to-head in 'Clash of the Riders!'_**

 ** _Until next time, please remember to read & review!_**


	2. Clash of the Riders!

**Author's Note 1: I don't own anything except my original characters.**

 _Opening 1: With You by Back-On feat. Me_

 _(The Mysterious Woman watches Yggdrasil tower in the distance while the Fedora-wearing man watches from another building.)_

 _Tokubetsu na kimochi ni nareru hito_

 _deai wakare no naka sagashitsuzukete_

 _(We see Kouta, Tatsuki, and their teams walking towards the tower with determined expression. Kouta and Tatsuki smile at each other before hundreds of cracks start opening up and release swarms of Inves. The two riders strap on their belts and and unlock their respective lockseeds as they run before we see the story title that has silhouettes of Gaim and Valkyrie on it.)_

 _hibi wa mou-SUPIIDO de boku o oikoshite'ku no ni_

 _hitori tachidomatte ita_

 _(Kouta is out doing his part time jobs until his mind wanders to Team Gaim and the missing Yuya. He steps off his moped and tossed on his Team Gaim jacket, his orange lockseed in his hand.)_

 _kimi wa tada waratte "minna onaji da" tte itte_

 _mae o mite aruite ita_

 _(Tatsuki is doing her practice Kata in an empty wearhouse before we see Sora & Team Valkyrie dancing and Haru experimenting on a Lock Vehicle.)_

 _Kokoro no naka wa senmei na color_

 _kako no itami ga shibaru sono karada_

 _mazu wa koko kara, tomo ni koeru n da!_

 _tsukuriageta kyoukaisen! sono te o hanasuna!_

 _(We see Kaito walking as he briefly see Armored Rider Baron, Micchy looking at Mai from a distance as we briefly see Armored Rider Ryugen, Hase & Jonoichi hanging before seeing Armored Rider Kurokage & Gridon, Oren in his sweat shop before seeing Armored Rider Bravo and finally we see Takatora standing in front of a crack before becoming Armored Rider Zangetsu.)_

 _Kimi to deaeta koto de, boku wa tsuyoku nareta_

 _monotarinai mainichi ga michitarita hibi e_

 _(MONOKURO ni miete'ta sekai wa KARAA! kono hitomi no naka KIMI ga iru kara!)_

 _tomatte ita boku no sekai wa, ugokidashita_

 _(In the Helheim Forrest, Kouta and Tatsuki transform into their rider forms and start fighting off Inves with their respective weapons. We also see brief instances of the other Armored Riders fighting as well. We then see Gaim in his Orange, Strawberry & Plum forms & Valkyrie in her Apple, Pine and Lime forms, each different form standing back to back. The Suika Arms transforms into it's Yoroi Mode before we cut to Kouta and Tatsuki sitting on a roof, overlooking Zawame city as the sun starts to set._

 _(The final image we see the six lockseeds on roof floor, the setting sun's rays making them shine.)_

 _Chapter 2: Clash of the Riders!_

In the apartment of the Nagasawa siblings, a brown-haired man in his late twenties was sitting on the dinner table as he worked on a laptop. He wore a green t-shirt and black shorts. Connected to the laptop was a kurumi lockseed attached to a drive that was wire-connected to the laptop. On the screen were images of codes and an elementary Inves.

'Come on, show me your secrets.' The man thought to himself as he continued to type and hit enter. The lockseed opened and a beam fired from the drive. The beam started create a rainbow-colored portal until sparks starting coming out of the lockseed until it exploded.

"Damn it! That's the sixth one this week!" The man yelled and he closed the laptop. He pulled at this hair in anger. "The secret to inter-dimensional travel and I can't get it right!" He then heard the door being unlocked and turned, seeing Tatsuki and Sora enter the apartment.

"Hey girls." Haru Nagasawa greeted his sister and her best friend. He saw that bruises on the two women and rushed to them. "Did you get into another fight?"

"Y-Ya." Tatsuki answered, still reeling from the day's earlier events. Haru went to get some bandages and saw Sora holding briefcase in her left hand.

"What's in the case, Sora?"

The bespectacled woman snapped out of her stupor and placed the case on the dinner table and unlocked it, showing the belt, the Apple & Watermelon lockseeds and a flash-drive.

"Woah!" Haru picked up the belt buckle, looking at it with wonder. "Where did you get this?"

And thus, Tatsuki and Sora told the older man about what happened a few hours ago. The mysterious portal, the real Shika Inves, Tatsuki transforming & defeating it, and finally the older man dying. At first, Haru didn't believe any of this until his younger sister transformed.

"You said this guy was Burai Katsuragi?" The older man asked.

"You've heard of him?" Tatsuki asked, getting a nod in response.

"He was one of the leading experts in other dimensional travel. But no one's heard from him in three years."

"And now he's dead." Sora said solemnly as she remembered the dead scientist.

"But that still doesn't explain why he had this belt, that weird portal is, or how that Inves was real." Tatsuki chimed in.

"Well..." Haru started, getting their attention. "There was that giant Inves that was killed by that Armored Rider guy."

"So what? Do you just go up and ask them if they've noticed a monster-spewing portal anywhere?" Sora asked. Hearing this, Tatsuki smirked and gripped the Apple Lockseed.

"Where's the fun in that?"

 ** _Two days later..._**

Kouta Kazuraba was sitting near the dance stage as the rest of Team Gaim danced, drawing in a crowd. Watching Mai, Micchy and the rest of the team have fun brought a smile to his face. But as it had happened earlier this week, the music stopped and everyone turned and saw Sora holding their dance pass.

"What's up?" Sora asked nonchalantly as Tatsuki stood next to her and the rest of her dance crew, each of them wearing matching red jackets with the image of an armored woman riding a winged horse on the back. "So you're the team everyone's been talking about."

"Who're you?" Mai asked, getting a bit tired of all their dancing getting interrupted by people wanting to challenge Kouta.

Sora was a bit ticked off by this. "We're the Team that's going to overthrow Team Baron! We are the mighty Valkyrie!"

"Valkyrie?" Micchy asked, titling his head in confusion.

"Look, can we fight that Armored Rider guy or not?" Tatsuki asked, pointing towards Kouta. The former delivery boy smiled as he stepped onto the stage.

"Yosh! Let's do this!" Tatsuki smiled at the black-haired man's attitude as the two teams gave Kouta & Tatsuki some space, the crowd getting excited to see another Gaim battle.

"So, are you going to show me your transformation?" Tatsuki asked as she placed her bag on the floor.

Kouta smiled at his enemy's anticipation as he slapped on his belt. "Get ready." He pulled out his orange lockseed and unlocked it. "Henshin!"

 **Orange!**

A crack unzipped above him and an armored orange appeared. Kouta placed the lockseed on the belt and locked it in place.

 **Lock On!**

The blue-clad beat rider started moving his head to the techno music before slicing it open with the tiny sword on his belt.

 **Soiya! Orange Arms! Hamaichi on Stage!**

The orange fell on him, unfolded and manifested armor and two swords, revealing the familiar orange-themed samurai known as Armored Rider Gaim, making Tatsuki smile with glee.

"Okay, that is seriously cool."

Kouta blushed inside his armor. "Thank you. So, what Inves are you going to use?"

With a mischievous smirk, Tatsuki pulled her belt and Lockseed out of her bag, surprising everyone except Sora, who just smirked. The kendo enthusiast slapped on the belt and unlocked her lockseed. "Henshin!"

 **Ringo!**

The familiar site of a crack unzipping made way for an armored apple to appear above her. Tatsuki placed the lock on her belt...

 **Lock On!**

...and sliced it, making the apple unfold on her and transformed her into her knight-like form and manifested her Apple Reflector with the Sword Bringer holstered inside it.

 **Come on! Ringo Arms: Desire Forbidden Fruits!**

"OHHHH!" Gaim exclaimed in astonishment. "You're an Armored Rider too?!"

"Yup." The armored woman answered as she placed her empty hand on her hip.

"Y-You got a name?" The baffled Gaim asked.

"Yup!" Sora said. "Bask in the glory of Armored Rider...Valkyrie!"

"What she said." Valkyrie stated as she drew her sword, Gaim doing the same with both his Orange-themed sword and the Musou Saber. After some silence, the two fruit-themed warriors charged, sparks flying as their swords clashed. Gaim swung his swords down, but Valkyrie blocked with her shield and kicked the samurai-themed rider back. The orange rider quickly recovered and fired some shots form his Musou Saber that the apple-themed rider evaded by jumping off the stage, the crowd clearing out of the way. Gaim attached his weapons together and placed his Orange Lockseed on the Musou Saber's drive.

 **Lock On! 1! 10! 100! 1000!**

With a yell, Kouta swung his combined weapon twice, launching two orange waves at his opponent. However, Valkyrie quickly sliced her lockseed twice.

 **Come On! Ringo Au Lait!**

Red energy started forming around the Apple Reflector and she blocked the orange energy waves, struggling against the opposing energy. With a powerful yell, Valkyrie pushed the shield forward, creating an apple construct that destroyed the orange energy waves and made Gaim evade as the construct hit the wall behind the stage and explode.

"Let's try this then!" Gaim exclaimed as he held out the Pine Lockseed and unlocked.

 **Pine!**

As the armored pineapple appeared overhead, Gaim replaced the lockseeds and sliced it open.

 **Lock On! Soiya! Pine Arms: Pulverize & Destroy!**

The giant pineapple landed and unfolded on Gaim and the Pine chain mace manifested in his hands. "This is my stage now!" The armored rider yelled and swung the chain mace, making Valkyrie dodge.

"You're not the only one who can change Lockseeds." Valkyrie said as she pulled out a Plum lockseed with the code 'L.S.-17' on it and she unlocked it. Yesterday, Tatsuki and Sora decided to test and see if any of the lockseeds could access other forms & weapons by placing them on the belt. As such, the bespectacled woman gave her best friend her lucky lockseed to use against Gaim.

 **Ume!**

A crack unzipped, letting a giant plum lower above Valkyrie.

"Ume?" Mai asked as the red & grey rider switched her lockseeds.

 **Lock On!**

Valkyrie then sliced the lockseed open, revealing the inside and an image of axe that appeared in a rainbow-colored hologram.

 **Come On! Ume Arms: Mister Slicer!**

The plum landed and unfolded, plum-colored plating attaching to Valkyrie's chest and shoulders while a small cape appeared on her back and her visor became light red and the back of her helmet became plum-colored and circular. A plum-colored & themed axe then manifested in her right arm before she spun it and placed it on her shoulders. "Round Two."

Gaim snapped out of his surprised and swung the pine mace again. However, Valkyrie just swung the Ume Axe, blocking the attacks. The now plum-themed rider tossed the axe and charged forward. Gaim swung the Musou Saber up and sent the axe skyward, but Valkyrie jumped into the air and grabbed it, coming down and slicing Gaim across the chest vertically before slashing her opponent two more times, sparks flying as Gaim was knocked back.

"Kouta!/Kouta-San!" Mai & Micchy yelled.

Gaim struggled and got back up. "I'm not giving!" He exclaimed as he sliced his lockseed three times.

 **Soiya! Pine Sparking!**

The yellow samurai jumped into the air and tossed the pine mace at Valkyrie, the mace growing to giant size. Tatsuki glared behind her helmet and sliced her lockseed three times.

 **Come On! Ume Sparking!**

Energy gathered around her axe and Valkyrie swung upward in an arc. "Fall!" A plum-colored wave of energy shattered the massive pineapple weapon and hit the airborne Gaim, covering him in a Plum Construct that then exploded.

"AHHH!" Kouta yelled as he landed on the floor, groaning as his armor faded. Tatsuki started walking towards her downed opponent and closed her lockseed, making her armor fade as well. She reached Kouta and held her hand out.

"You okay?" She asked. Kouta looked up and took her hand, the Kendoist helping him up.

"Ya, just some minor bruising." The black-haired man said as he pulled out his orange lockseed. He held it out, but Tatsuki just shook her head.

"I don't want your lockseed." She said, making Kouta raise his eyebrow. "I just wanted to ask you some stuff about your belt. And a good fight."

"But I barely even touched you." Kouta stated.

"But you definitely got potential." Tatsuki said. A little while later, Sora & Tatsuki brought Kouta to their usual hangout (which was an abandoned wearhouse) and they traded information. Kouta told the two women about Yuya (the leader of Team Gaim) told him & Mai to meet with him and they found a portal leading into a forest crawling with Inves. It was there he found his belt and found out that by wearing it, he could pluck the fruits in the forest and turn them into lockseeds. Soon afterwards, Kouta & Mai were attacked by a Byakko Inves and he figured out how to transform and killed it. Tatsuki & Sora then told Kouta about their own encounter with the Shika Inves and Burai dying.

While the two parties did get more information, little did they know that this only a small piece of a much larger puzzle.

 _To Be Continued..._

 **Author's Note 2: Yes, I am going to have my own original Lockseeds. And my apologizes if these first two chapters weren't that great, but I really want to get to the good stuff.**

 **And as you can tell by the summary, I'm now accepting submissions for OC riders and Original Lockseeds. Here are the forms for them that you can either send via review or PM:**

 **Rider Submission:**

 **Real Name:**

 **Rider Name:**

 **Civilian & Rider description: **

**Driver Phrase (Soiya, Come On, or Hai!):**

 **Bio:**

 **And now the Lockseed Submission:**

 **Fruit:**

 **Type (Arms or Vehicle):**

 **Number (L.S.-Insert number here):**

 **Weapon/Vehicle Description:**

 **Activation Phrase (Example: Banana Arms: Knight of Spear!):**

 **And just for the record, I already have an original lime crossbow for L.S.-15.**

 _Next Time: A new challenger in the form of Armored Rider Baron has appeared! But when his battle with Gaim causes the two to disappear, Tatsuki challenges the man she believes to be behind this...the Lock Dealer Sid! Come back next time as we see Beat Rider vs Lock Dealer in 'Triple Threat!'_

 **Until next time, please remember to read & review!**


	3. Triple Threat!

**Author's Note 1: I don't own anything except my OCs and what else I make up.**

 **P.S. I'm still accepting OC riders & Lockseeds. See the AN of chapter 2 for details.**

 _Chapter 3: Triple Threat_

"Helloooooo, Zawame City and all you Beat Riders out there! This is DJ Sagara and boy-oh-boy, has it been an exciting week in the Inves Games. Not only did we see the debut of Armored Rider Gaim, but we also got to see a battle between two Armored Riders when former last place holder Team Valkyrie showed their own rider. With Gaim reaching third place & Valkyrie closing in at fourth place, it seems like we're reaching a new stage of the Inves Games!"

This report was coming online when a pedestrian was walking through the streets on his phone. However, he noticed a crowd gathering nearby and heard people mentioning that an Inves game was happening. He looked through the crowd and saw Team Valkyrie & Team Raid Wild facing each other in a nearby square.

"We clear on the terms? If I win, we get your belt." Hase, Raid Wild's leader stated as he pulled out two common lockseeds.

"That's a big if." Tatsuki replied with a smirk as she held out her Sengoku Driver (the name of which she had learned from Kouta) and placed it on her waist, the yellow belt materializing. She then pulled out her Apple Lockseed and unlocked it.

 **Ringo!**

The familiar sight of a crack unzipping and the metal apple appeared overhead as Tatsuki locked the lockseed into place...

 **Lock On!**

...And sliced it open with the tiny sword, causing the apple on fall and transform her into Armored Rider Valkyrie.

 **Come On! Ringo Arms: Desire Forbidden Fruits!**

Hase then unlocked his two common lockseeds, letting two incorporeal & tiny Elemental Inves into this world as a yellow battle stage appeared. The coat-wearing Beat Rider gave a cocky smirk and closed his lockseeds.

 **Battle Start!**

The two tiny terrors rushed at Valkyrie, but the apple-themed rider spun past them, evading their attacks. One jumped at the female rider, only to get slapped away.

"That's just sad." Valkyrie commented as she kicked the other Inves away. Deciding to finish the 'battle', she sliced her lockseed three times.

 **Ringo Sparking!**

She pulled out her Sword Bringer as it glowed with energy and she slashed the Inves with a vertical swing, destroying them in an apple slice explosion. The crowd & Team Valkyrie cheered as Hase's lockseeds flew into Valkyrie's hands as she turned back into her civilian form. Raid Wild left feeling shamed as they walked away.

"Nice job, Tatsu-chan." Sora said as she congratulated her friend along with the rest of the team.

A little while later, Tatsuki & Sora were chatting it up as they walked to kendoist's apartment.

"If I was a betting woman, I'd say that our latest battle might push us to second place." Sora explained as she brought up the Team Rankings on the Beat Rider website.

"So that puts us behind Team Baron." Tatsuki said. While the two still had no idea about the forest (Kouta's information revealed that he didn't know that much about the forest aside from the fruits apparently being lockseeds) or what Burai was doing before he died, the two felt they might as well take advantage of their new possession to work their way to the top. "What do we know about the guy in charge of Baron?"

"Well, he's known for using three lockseeds at a time. Usually two C-grade lockseeds and at least an A-Grade lockseed against stronger opponents."

"How observant." The two women turned and saw a young man with a red & black coat and recognizable brown hair. "As expected from the team on the rise from last place."

"Y-You're Kaito Kumon!" Sora stuttered at seeing the leader of Team Baron as Tatsuki just observed the Beat Rider, who in turn looked at her.

"So you're Valkyrie's Armored Rider?"

"That's right. Name's Tatsuki Nagasawa." The brunette said as she held out her hand, only for Kaito to not take it.

"I must say, you definitely have more guts than Gaim's Armored Rider." He stated, confusing the two.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Gaim's only fought people who come and challenge him. You on the other hand have gone out of your way to fight higher ranked teams. And there lies the difference." Kaito said as he gave Tatsuki a look that almost showed respect. "Gaim is a coward afraid of making enemies while you have no problem seeking and stepping on those weaker than you. The joy of crushing weaklings under you feet. You understand what it truly means to be strong."

Hearing this did not have the reaction Kaito expected. Tatsuki scowled and clenched her hands into fists. "Baka."

"Huh?"

"You think I fight to prove a point? To assert dominance?" She grabbed the Baron leader by his collar and gave a hate-filled glare. "I fight for fun. I fight to improve & challenge myself. What you're talking about isn't strength. It's being a bully." She let go of the beat rider and walked off in a huff, Sora looking in concern as she chased after her friend, leaving a confused looking Kaito behind.

'That was...unexpected.' The brunette man thought to himself as he pulled out his phone and dialed his teammate.

"Moshi, moshi." A voice said on the other end.

"Zack, it's Kaito. I need you and Peco to look up something."

"Sure thing, boss. What is it?"

"I need you to find out all you can on Valkyrie's Armored Rider."

Later that night, Tatsuki was lying in her bed, holding her apple lockseed as she stared up at the ceiling. What Kaito had said really ticked her the wrong way. She had heard about how the leader of Team Baron was one of the strongest Beat Riders in the game and him having a no-nonsense attitude. But it wasn't the fact that he was basically a bully with his ideal, but how close it hit home. She then heard a knock on her door.

"Hey, can I come in?" Haru asked from the other side.

"Sure." Tatsuki said, sitting up as her older brother entered her room.

"Sora told me about what happened with that Baron guy. How're you holding up?" Haru asked as he sat on her desk chair.

"I'm fine." The kendoist half-heartily stated, which her brother noticed and gave her a hug.

"Look, Tatsu. You don't have to keep feeling guilty. You haven't been like that in years."

Tatsuki said nothing as she hugged her brother in comfort back.

 _ **At Team Baron's Headquarters...**_

"Do we really have to bother with this?" Peco asked as Zack booted up his laptop.

"Kaito gave us direct order. You want to tell him that we ignored his request?" Zack asked before his teammate shook his head. The taller beat rider pulled up an image of Tatsuki. But to his surprise, Peco looked at the photo of the rider and yelled, falling out of his chair. "You okay?"

"T-that's Valkyrie?!" The lanky man asked with fear in his voice.

"Do you know her?"

"Know her? Anyone who went to Kozuki High would recognize her!" Peco said as memories of terrible high school days. "Tatsuki Nagasawa, the Kendo Demon of Kozuki!"

 _ **Two days later...**_

Tatsuki was walking through the streets, heading towards Valkyrie's stage in the north part of the city. However, her attention was drawn by several people running somewhere.

"Come on! There's an Inves game going on!"

Deciding to take a slight detour, the kendoist decided to follow and soon saw a crowd looking down from a ledge. Tatsuki looked down and saw Kouta facing off against Kaito Kumon.

'Kouta? What're you doing?' The brunette thought to herself.

"Looks like Baron's boss picked a fight with one of the Armored Riders!"

"You serious?"

"Hey, excuse me! Coming through!" Tatsuki turned and saw Team Gaim move through the crowd and look down at their teammate.

"What's he thinking?" Mai asked. "Why would he take an Inves challenge if it's not for the team or a stage?"

"This is no game. This is a duel!" Micchy stated, Tatsuki nodding in agreement.

"Bring out as many Inves as you like!" Kouta shouted at his opponent, his Sengoku Driver already strapped onto his waist. "You won't beat me!"

"Hm. I'm afraid we're beyond such trifles." Kaito replied before he reached into his jacket and pulled out a Sengoku Driver, surprising Kouta, Tatsuki & the rest of the crowd. The Baron leader then placed the driver on his waist, the yellow belt materializing and the Rider indicator changing. He then pulled out a banana lockseed.

"Henshin." He said as he unlocked it.

 **Banana!**

The familiar sight of a crack unzipping overhead appeared, this time letting a metal banana fall through. Kaito then placed the lockseed onto his driver...

 **Lock On!**

...and the triumphant horn music (which Tatsuki noted was the same kind that came from her driver) started playing, hyping the crowd up.

"Is Baron's leader gonna transform too?"

"That'd be Armored Rider...Baron, right?"

Both Tatsuki & Kouta glared at Kaito as he sliced open his lockseed.

 **Come On! Banana Arms!**

The banana fell on Kaito, materializing his base red & silver form as he slowly started walking towards his opponent.

"Banana?! Bana-Banana?!" Zack yelled in surprise.

"I am Baron!" Kaito yelled as the banana unfolded, revealing his knight-themed helmet and a banana-themed lance that materialized in his right hand.

 **Knight of Spear!**

"You can transform too?!" Kouta asked.

"Baron has an Armored Rider too?!" Micchy asked in shock.

'Why?!' Tatsuki yelled in her mind as she gripped the guard rails. 'Why is he a rider?!'

"I will show you the meaning of true strength." The newly-christened Armored Rider Baron stated.

"I don't think so!" Kouta exclaimed, pulling out his orange lockseed. "Henshin!"

 **Orange!**

After the orange appeared and Kouta did this pose, he locked the lockseed into place...

 **Lock On!**

...and sliced it open.

 **Soiya! Orange Arms: Hamaichi on Stage!**

Kouta's transformation to Gaim finished and he got into a fighting pose. However, before the two riders could clash.

"Hold it!"

Everyone turned and saw a familiar lockseed dealer with a large wheel case walking towards the two riders.

"Come to rain on our parade, Sid?" Baron asked.

"Well, now we've got Armored Riders fighting each other, you can hardly call it an Inves games, can you?" The lockseed dealer stated. "So as I see it, we need to update the rules." The bowler-hat wearing man then pulled out two unfamiliar flower lockseeds, one a rose and the other a sakura petal. "These locks are on the house, just this once."

Sid tossed the lockseeds and Baron caught the rose one while Gaim caught the sakura one. "Open them." The two armored riders did just that. Much to everyone's surprise, the lockseeds floating into the air and started shifting & expanding before landing, revealing two flower-themed motorcycles.

'Holy crap! Haru's gonna flip when I tell him about this!' Tatsuki thought as her eyes widened.

"These Lock Vehicles are the newest tech." Sid explained. "They're still prototypes, but I trust you approve, gentlemen? Assuming you can handle them, of course."

"You want us to fight with these?" Baron asked as he inspected his given vehicle. "Interesting."

"Fine! Bring it on!" Gaim exclaimed. "But when I beat you, you'd better apologize for all that! Got that? You got some nerve calling me spineless."

"Hmph."

"What was-?! Don't hmph me, dang it!"

'So that's what he did.' Tatsuki thought to herself. A few minutes later, Sid had set up a live feed so the crowd could watch the race via a pad. The race started as the two riders zoomed ahead, jumping over a fence and heading for a restricted area. Baron pulled ahead before Gaim caught up. But suddenly, several petals appeared and the bikes starting spinning until both the vehicles and the riders disappeared in two flower-themed cracks.

"What the f&^k?!" Tatsuki yelled as she and the rest of the crowd were shocked at the sudden turn of events. The female rider turned to the lockseed dealer who tired to nonchalantly walk away. "Hey!" Sid turned and saw the angry kendoist walking towards him. "What did you do?!"

"Me? I just supplied the lockseeds. Like I said, they were prototypes, so there was no way of telling what would happen if they reached a certain speed." Sid explained.

"Bullshit! You just gave two kids untested lockseeds! What kind of dealer are you?" The brunette asked in a rage. Seeing an opportunity, Sid smirked.

"Maybe I do know something. But I won't give it away for free."

"What do you want?" Tatsuki asked.

"I've seen you online. You're Armored Rider Valkyrie. But I don't recall that particular lockseed you use or selling you a Warring Driver. So how about we play an Inves Game. If I when, you tell me how you got that lockseed & driver. If you win, I'll tell you what I know about what happened to Gaim & Baron." He then pulled out a lime-themed lockseed with the code 'L.S.-15' on it and another rose-themed Vehicle Lockseed. "I'll even throw these in."

"Fine." Tatsuki stated as the crowd gave the two some space. The brunette placed her driver on her waist and pulled out her lockseed. "Henshin."

 **Ringo!**

She then locked it in place and sliced it open.

 **Lock On! Come On! Ringo Arms: Desire Forbidden Fruits!**

After Valkyrie's armor & weapons fully materialized, Sid pulled out three lockseeds (two common ones and the lime lockseed) and unlocked them. A yellow ring appeared as two Elementary Inves & a Byakko Inves jumped out of the cracks. "May the best rider win." Sid said as he closed his lockseeds.

 **Battle Start!**

The Byakko Inves roared and charged swing his claws, only for Valkyrie to block with her Apple Reflector. The apple-themed rider kicked it back as the two smaller Inves' flanked her and went for a jump, only for Valkyrie to pull out her sword and knock them away. The large Inves roared and unleashed a barrage of vine-shaped energy blasts that Valkyrie was forced to block. However, this gave the two smaller monsters a chance to jump and slash at the rider, making her stagger a bit before the Byakko Inves closed in and slashed her across the chest, making sparks fly as she recovered.

"Nice trick. But that won't work on me." Valkyrie yelled, charging forward and slicing up the two tiny Inves, knocking them out and leaving only the Byakko Inves to face her. The dragon-like creature let out another roar and unleashed another blast. Valkyrie blocked with her shield and sliced her lockseed twice.

 **Ringo Au Lait!**

Energy gathered around the shield and Valkyrie pushed forward, launching an apple construct that trapped the Byakko Inves. She then jumped into the air and came down with her foot forward. "Fall!" Valkyrie came down and kicked through the construct, which then exploded and took the trapped Inves with it, ending the match. The crowd cheered for Valkyrie as Sid's lockseeds flew from his hand and Valkyrie grabbed them.

"Well, I'm nothing if not a man of my word." Sid said, tossing the rose lockseed at the apple-themed rider as well. "The truth is...I don't know much about where Gaim & Baron, but I do know it's where most of the lockseeds come from."

"And that's all you know...or all you're willing to tell me?" Tatsuki asked, having reverted back to her civilian form. Sid just gave a witty smile in response.

"I think I'll leave that up for you to decide. Either way, your fellow Armored Riders should be back before the week's end. Just have faith in them." He tipped his bowler hat and started walking away. "Until then, keep making the Inves Game more fun, Ms. Nagasawa."

Tatsuki looked at the retreating dealer before looking back at her new vehicle lockseed with a curious look. Unbeknownst to her, Peco was gripping the guard rails in anger as he glared at the kendoist.

'Why? Out of everyone, why her? A monster like doesn't deserve such power!' The lanky man thought in anger. 'If only I had one of those belts...' He then saw Sid walking away and a plan started to form in Peco's mind, a smirk appearing on his face.

 _To be continued..._

 **Author's Note 2: Oh ho ho ho! I see another rivalry forming in this modern Warring Era!**

 _Next time: With Gaim and Baron still missing, Tatsuki is left feeling helpless, afraid of what will happen if she uses her new Lock Vehicle. However, a new challenger appears, giving the kendoist the battle of a lifetime, even with the Lime Lockseed at her disposal. Come back next time as another battle between riders occurs in 'Marika Appears! Lime VS Peach!'._

 **Until then, please remember to read & review! **


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